all kidding aside

It would have made a great April Fool’s Day story. Alas, it’s only February. In case you missed it, David Dellucci, the former Ole Miss standout now with the Cleveland Indians, is going to be stalled for a brief while because of a cut on his left thumb. Dellucci told some enraptured reporters on Saturday that he was injured while saving a small boy from an attacking alligator. He was kidding. The truth, he would admit, was that he hurt his thumb slamming the tailgate on a trailer as he packed for spring training last week. The wound required stitches, and Dellucci reportedly will miss the Indians’ first three spring games. No big deal. Maybe. The 35-year-old Dellucci is no lock to make the Indians’ 25-man club. He is entering the last year of an $11.5 million contract and coming off a season in which he hit just .238 as the semi-regular left fielder. He missed most of 2007 with an injury. The Indians have some young players bidding for spots this spring. Dellucci, who is with his sixth team since breaking into the big leagues in 1997, could wind up looking for a seventh. No fooling.